Hazrat Inayat Khan

Every passion, every emotion, has its effect upon the mind. Every change of mind, however slight, has its effect upon the body.

What is Physiology?

Have you ever felt miserable or depressed? At the time did you pay attention to your body? How was it moving? How was it positioned? What were your eyes focusing on? What kind of gestures did you make? How were you breathing? What sort of facial expressions did you make? Were you even conscious of these signals? Or did you simply not care to give it any attention?

If you paid little to no attention to your physiology at the time, then you clearly missed out on an incredible opportunity to unlock the creation process of your emotional experience.

Your state-of-mind is intrinsically connected to your physiology. In fact the two are so closely intertwined that slight changes in one can lead to significant changes in the other.

Physiology is a broad term that refers to:

Movement of the body

Gestures made

Posture

Eye-gaze or focus

Rate and depth of breathing

Level of muscle tension

Facial expressions

Position of limbs

Alignment of spine and head

The Mind-Body Connection

The mind reflects your physiology by responding to its levels of tension, rate of breath, speed of movement, and to your attention and mental focus. Likewise your body mirrors your thoughts, feelings, mood, and responds to your state of mind, the questions you ask and the words you speak on a daily basis. Both are intrinsically connected and intertwined in an intimate dance that lasts a lifetime.

What Does All This Mean?

If the mind and body are intrinsically connected — meaning that one has a direct affect on the other — then it poses the argument that if we directly and consciously take control of one, that it will directly influence and transform the other. Therefore by taking the time to purposefully adjust how you use your body will immediately influence your state of mind, and could likewise dramatically transform the course of your decisions and actions.

The Physiological Experiment

To prove how powerful this can be, follow along and participate in the following physiological experiment.

In a moment I will ask you to experiment by adopting two states that are on opposite sides of the emotional spectrum. The first state is depression and the second state is confidence.

Take time now to experience each of these states separately by adjusting your physiology accordingly with the following guidelines. Please be sure to spend at least 2 minutes experiencing each emotional state exactly as described.

Experiencing a State of Depression

Think about your problems and mistakes.

Speak slowly, methodically and in a monotone voice.

Walk rigidly and slowly while shuffling your feet.

Make sure you slouch your shoulders, sink down in your posture and feel the tension building up in your body.

Breathe in a shallow, uneven manner using your upper chest.

Make sure that your eyes are looking down and have a very narrow range of focus.

Wear a disheartening frown on your face.

Before switching to the next emotional state, shake your body out from head to toe for 10 seconds.

Experiencing a State of Confidence

Think optimistically about solutions and positive outcomes.

Speak passionately with increased volume and tempo.

Walk quickly with purpose ensuring that your back and shoulders are straight and that you’re moving your body freely.

Make sure to use gentle gestures and walk lightly on your feet.

Breathe using your abdomen evenly and deeply.

Make sure your eyes are looking forward and that you are using your peripheral vision.

Wear a cheeky grin on your face.

Now that you have experimented with both states, what’s your verdict? How did each emotional state feel? Was there a distinct difference between the two states? What role did your body play in helping you transform your state of mind?

If you completed the experiment correctly you probably realized how small changes to your physiology can dramatically transform your state of mind. We actually make these shifts and changes all the time without even thinking about them. Maybe from this moment onward we can do them proactively, consciously and with purpose.

Find Your Peak State

The most successful people in the world, whether in business, sports or any other career path are at their best when they are working from within their optimal peak state. This state means different things to different people. It’s therefore important to identify the peak state that is right for you — allowing you to work to your highest potential at any one moment in time.

Here are some guidelines that will help you find your peak state:

Cultivate Awareness

Start by becoming aware of your thoughts, emotions and current frame-of-mind. Also pay attention to your mental focus and how you perceive things and circumstances. This awareness will help you gain deep insights into your current state of mind, while assisting you with your search for your peak optimal state.

Extend Awareness to Physical Body

This awareness will help you manage your body more effectively as you strive to maintain an optimal state of mind.

Cultivate Empowering Traits

There are certain traits and characteristics that are naturally conducive to bringing forth an optimal state of mind. For instance, by taking time to cultivate charisma, passion, enthusiasm, curiosity, optimism, patience and persistence will instantly help empower your thoughts and transform how you use your body on a daily basis.

To begin cultivating each of these states simply ask yourself:

How would I use my body if I was filled with passion or enthusiasm?

How would I use my body if I was curious and fascinated about my problems?

How would I use my body if I had an incredible amount of patience?

How would I use my body if I was the most charismatic person alive?

What would I say to myself?

What would I focus on?

How would I focus on things?

What gestures would I make?

How would I breathe?

What would I think about?

How would I walk?

How would I talk?

How would I interact with others?

What kinds of decisions would I make?

What kinds of actions would I take?

How would I look?

Focus on the Positives

It’s very easy for us to get completely absorbed in our day-to-day problems. In such instances we tend to focus on what’s not working or on what’s difficult. This often leads to limiting emotions and likewise physiological changes.

In order to experience our peak optimal state we need to always focus on solutions and opportunities that will naturally encourage us to keep moving forward towards our goals and objectives.

Model Successful People

In addition to everything we have discussed thus far, it’s also prudent to model the peak states of successful individuals whom you admire. These people are successful because of the states that they are able to maintain consistently over time that help them perform at the highest levels.

Study these people, model their states, and soon you too will begin replicating their results.

Writing Out Your Physiological Recipe

In the previous section we identified a number of empowering traits that are critical for success in any field of endeavor. We’ll now take a look at traits that you personally believe are absolutely critical to your success in your area of expertise. Let’s unlock your physiological recipe.

1. Select Critical Trait

Select a trait that is required to achieve your goals and objectives. It could for instance be confidence, creativity, enthusiasm, passion or motivation. Choose just one empowering state that will have the greatest lasting positive impact on your life.

2. Identify Time You Experienced State

Think back to a time when you experienced this state. Reflect upon this experience and identify how you used your body and gestures, where and how you focused on things, how you breathed, what you said to yourself, etc.

Go through all the reference points we discussed in the previous section and identify in detail on paper the exact psychological and physiological recipe you used to get into this particular state-of-mind.

Also take time to consider what events, people or circumstances might have triggered this state and how you responded at the time.

Make a mental note how your body is responding to this emotional state. This will help you unlock your physiological recipe.

4. Practice and Anchor State

Once you have unlocked your physiological recipe, now comes time to lock it away for good in the recesses of your mind. To do this, you must ensure that you form a new habit that is lasting and transforming. This is best achieved by creating an anchor that involves physically anchoring the desired state to a part of your body.

As you think about this optimal state and adjust your body accordingly, lightly tug on your earlobe when you feel you are at the peak of your emotional experience. Do this several times per day over a period of a few days. If done correctly, you will establish a lasting anchor that you can use at any time to call forth your optimal state and physiology.

Rapidly Shifting Your Physiological State

When we feel disheartened and miserable it’s easy to fall prey to our emotions and very difficult to find the motivation to change our physiology and movement. However, if we want to maintain the highest levels of productivity, then we must as often as possible maintain a peak emotional state.

Here are some quick and easy ideas that will get your body moving and help you dig yourself out of a lazy slump:

Listen to energizing or inspirational music.

Start dancing and moving your body to music.

Hit a punching bag.

Do some exercise.

Go for a walk.

Take a warm bath or shower.

Sit still and breathe deeply from your abdomen.

Each of these suggestions will help you shift your physiology and improve your focus and concentration. As a result you will become more active and productive throughout the day.

Final Thoughts

Hazrat Inayat Khan once said that:

Every passion, every emotion, has its effect upon the mind. Every change of mind, however slight, has its effect upon the body.

There’s no denying that both mind and body are intertwined in a remarkable way where the fate of one lives in the hands of the other. This is probably quite unfortunate, because it means that there are no longer any excuses that could justify cultivating a miserable heart. 😉

I hope you enjoyed reading this article, and that you took the time to download the physiology of excellence mind map, which is available as a printable pdf poster from the IQ Matrix Store. I’ve designed it as a reference guide you can use to help you understand the key concepts and ideas presented within this article. I look forward to hearing any comments or questions you might have.

Time to Assimilate these Concepts

Did you gain value from this article? Would you like to keep these concepts at the forefront of your mind? If so, then you might like to download the accompanying mind map reference poster to your iPad, tablet or computer. The map presents you with a quick overview of this article. It’s designed specifically to help improve your memory and recall of this information so that you can better integrate these concepts into your daily thoughts, habits and actions.

If you enjoy using these maps, then why not become a IQ Matrix lifetime member where you will gain access to an ever growing number of hundreds of self-growth mind maps that can help you excel in every area of life. It would be fantastic to have you join our community of existing lifetime members.

B.C. Forbes

Think not of yourself as the architect of your career, but as the sculptor.

The Managing Your Career series of mind maps and articles is designed to help you manage your career path far more effectively by providing specific guidelines to assist you along your journey towards climbing the career ladder. This series includes the following mind map topics:

How to Map Your Career Path

Have you ever taken time to consciously manage your career? If your answer is “no”, then don’t you think you might be leaving things a little to chance? After all everyone wants to win the lottery, however your actual chances of winning the lottery are very slim — heavily reliant on what most people would call luck. You either get lucky or you don’t. If you agree with this statement, then I have a very serious question for you:

Is your progress up the career ladder defined by chance or by conscious choice?

This IQ Matrix and accompanying article delves into the process of consciously mapping out your career path to pave the way for your ascension up the career ladder.

We will delve into the following areas:

The actions you should be taking on a daily basis that will keep you primed and ready for potential career opportunities that could arise in the future.

Clarification about your current reality and how you can use this information to help you reach your career goals and objectives sooner.

Identification of personal assets, targets and the boundaries you will need to set to lay down a solid career path.

A break down of your portfolio to help enhance your career prospects and opportunities.

An exploration of further possibilities for growth and development.

Each of these areas will be explored within this article and are also visualized within the IQ Matrix for easy reference.

Where to Begin?

How you manage your career path is defined by the decisions you make and the actions you take on a daily basis. Each decision and every action must be focused on the primary areas that will help you gain access to opportunities to advance your career prospects.

Before we begin delving into this area, it’s important that you first take the time to ask yourself the following set of questions:

What does managing my career really mean to me?

How have I managed my career to date?

Which aspects of my career need most attention?

How would I describe my career outlook?

Have I laid out clear goals and objectives?

How do I see my career unfolding over the next 5 to 10 years?

Do I like what I see?

How does this make me feel?

Does this inspire confidence or awaken concern?

Unless you have a clear sense of direction for your career path, you will fail to take advantage of opportunities that may come your way as you work towards your goals and objectives.

Career Management Guidelines

As you’re working your way up the career ladder is paramount that you stay focused and on track — taking advantage of any opportunities that may come your way.

Here are some guidelines that will help you along this journey:

Learn from Mistakes

Always be learning from your mistakes in order to make the most of second chance opportunities.

Manage Difficulties and “Change”

Keep focused on managing difficulties and change. The better you are at doing this, the quicker you will be able to adapt to changing conditions and circumstances when they arise. Also keep in mind that difficulties and change bring with them opportunities for growth and progress. Keep an eye out for these, because one man’s difficulty is another man’s greatest opportunity.

Set Clear Targets and Objectives

Managing difficulties and change stems from your ability to set clear yet flexible targets and objectives. The more clarity you have about what you want, the greater your capacity to adapt to changing conditions and circumstances that may arise as you make progress along your journey.

Keep Long-term Career Goals Private

Informing everyone in your office about what you want to achieve could very easily lead to resentment and gossip, which may distract you from your primary objectives. Therefore keep your long-term career goals private to help you to stay focused and on track.

Self-Analysis is the Key

When it comes to managing your career effectively, your primary job is to constantly learn about yourself and evaluate your experiences on a consistent basis. You must therefore take the time to evaluate the progress you are making along your journey on both an external and internal level. Internally, this means that you must take the time to evaluate your emotional tendencies, abilities, skills, habits, decisions and behaviors on a regular basis. Are you growing or are you stagnating?

Keep in mind that unless you’re growing internally, then you will always tend to struggle externally to achieve anything of significance.

Further Guidelines

Here are some other suggestions that will help you begin managing your career more effectively:

Keep looking ahead rather than dwelling on past mistakes or disappointments.

Be clear about personal priorities.

Always be alert to career opportunities that you could take advantage of.

Be quick to make decisions in order to capitalize on potential opportunities.

Be prepared to work with a structured plan of action.

Always be flexible and adaptable to changing conditions and circumstances.

Assessing Your Current Reality

In order to pave the way for the future, your first and primary objective is to clearly understand where you are today and what you currently have at your disposal to help you make a push up the career ladder.

To begin with you must meticulously assess the progress you have made over the years. Ask yourself:

How did I get to this point in my career?

Are there things I would like to change?

Just maybe, you made decisions in the past that might not have turned out as you had expected. Learn from these decisions and take time to assess how you would have done things differently if given another chance. The answers to these questions will help you to gain clarity about your past and likewise will help you to make better decisions in the future.

Illuminate Your Future

Analyzing your past, will help you to illuminate your future. You can do this in the following ways:

Create a log-file of major career events and changes.

Thoroughly study your experiences and the lessons you have learned.

Analyse the cause and effect relationship between your behavior, decisions and results.

The more you learn about your past, the more you will uncover about your present, and the better prepared you will be to take advantage of opportunities that will arise in the future.

Your List of Resources

Over the years you have learned new things, acquired skills, gained knowledge, attended specialized training sessions and courses, etc. All these experiences make up your list of resources, and provide you with a solid foundation for your future career prospects. However, given your career plans, you may need to add additional resources to this list that will help you to take advantage of opportunities to climb the career ladder.

Ask yourself:

What additional resources might I need that will help me achieve my career objectives?

What knowledge or technical skills might I need to gain?

What skills might I be required to master?

Could having a mentor or personal career coach help me accelerate my progress up the career ladder?

Finally, keep in mind that your resources are only valuable if used effectively.

What’s My Next Step?

Your next step towards managing your career more effectively is to identify your assets, to set career goals and targets, to lay down boundaries and make a commitment to yourself and your progress up the career ladder.

Identify Your Assets

Your assets are the strengths you have at your disposal that you can use now and in the future to help you reach your career targets. Your objective here is to take time to list down all of your valuable strengths, qualities and characteristics that you feel could help you make progress up the career ladder. If you find this exercise difficult to do, then ask for help from your partner or a friend who can provide you with some honest feedback.

For self-assessment purposes, ask yourself the following questions:

What qualities do I consider to be my strengths?

How could these qualities help me make progress up the career ladder?

Given my strengths, what work environment would be most suitable?

Given my strengths, what job would suit me best?

What other strengths would I like to develop to enhance my career prospects?

How must I go about developing these strengths?

Is there someone who could assist me?

Finally, list down all your strengths and identify how each of them can help you make progress up the career ladder.

Lay Down Clear Boundaries

Achieving work-life balance is absolutely critical for long-term success and sanity. 😉 It’s therefore paramount that before you set career targets and objectives, that you first take time to lay down clear boundaries.

Ask yourself:

Would I be willing to change work locations if a career opportunity presents itself?

Would I be willing to go back and study to upgrade my skills and knowledge if a career opportunity pops up?

Would I be willing to sacrifice time with my family if a career opportunity arises?

Keep in mind that career opportunities often come at a price. Therefore if you’re not willing or able to make the necessary sacrifices to sustain or make progress up the career ladder, then you might need to go back to the drawing board and reassess your career goals and objectives.

Set Clear Career Targets

Having clarified your boundaries and identified your strengths and resources, you’re now ready to set clear career targets.

I won’t go into any detail here, as this topic has already been discussed within other blog posts. What I will point out though, is that motivation is the key to your progress up the career ladder. In fact, you will struggle to achieve any goal you set yourself if you are lacking motivation. Hence it’s absolutely critical that the goals you set are ambitious yet achievable.

Ask yourself:

Are my targets ambitious yet achievable?

Do I have enough motivation to obtain them?

Without motivation your life will be dictated by procrastination and stagnation. Therefore your number one objective here is to always find it within yourself to unlock the motivation you need to keep moving forward towards your career targets and objectives.

Make a Commitment

Having set clear boundaries and career targets, your next step is to make a commitment to your future. To do this, you must first consciously and openly acknowledge the changes and sacrifices that you are willing to make and the potential impact that your progress up the career ladder will have on your family and life.

Ask yourself:

In what direction would I like to take my career?

Am I willing to take the time to manage my career path?

Am I willing to make the necessary sacrifices?

Am I willing to shift my priorities and standards?

Am I willing to transform my habits and behaviors?

What resources may be required along the way? Can I gain access to them?

Am I really committed to take this step?

If you’re not willing and able to commit to this journey wholeheartedly, then you might as well go back to the drawing board and lay down a different set of goals that are more realistic and achievable.

Breaking Down Your Portfolio

Your portfolio is your calling-card. It’s in essence a marketing campaign that is designed to sell you to prospective buyers (employers). As such you must take the time to create a portfolio that will get people’s attention and help you stand-out from the crowd.

What to Include

There are many things that we could include within a portfolio. However, what I want to do here is list a few things that you might not have considered. For instance, take time to list down:

Specific projects you worked on.

Specific skills you acquired.

Knowledge gained via trainings, workshops and courses.

Major career achievements.

How you dealt with difficult situations.

How you overcame complex problems.

How you displayed leadership qualities.

All of these elements are critical to an employer looking for someone to fill a specific position within their company. Wouldn’t you want to know these things if you were hiring someone?

Analyzing Your Portfolio

While writing up your portfolio, take the opportunity to analyse how your career has evolved over the years.

To begin with, assess your levels of satisfaction or dissatisfaction at different stages of your career and analyze how these stages have impacted your process of thinking.

Ask yourself:

How do my career peaks and valleys help me to plan ahead?

What specific circumstances have helped me to get ahead?

What specific circumstances have held me back?

How does all of this help me clarify my career direction?

In addition to these questions, it’s important to also pinpoint how these peaks and valleys originated in the first place.

Ask yourself:

How did I experience these low points in my career? What was the specific cause?

What weaknesses was I exhibiting at the time?

What does this say about me?

How is this of significance for my future career path?

How did I experience these high points in my career? What was the specific cause?

What strengths was I exhibiting at the time?

What does this say about me?

How is this of significance for my future career path?

Finally, as you’re working through your portfolio be sure to consider the following areas:

Recognize career shifting choices.

Become aware of mistakes that were made.

Identify the lessons you learned.

Pinpoint areas for further development.

Identify trends and patterns.

Working through your portfolio in such a way will help you gain ever deeper insights and understandings into your behavior and motivations — subsequently unlocking keys that will help you to better recognize what it takes to climb the career ladder.

Explore the Possibilities

When it comes to your future career prospects, it’s absolutely critical that you become a “possibility thinker” who is committed to lifelong learning and development. You must therefore always look at life and ask:

What is possible here?

While other people are focusing on problems, you are instead focusing on possibilities that will help you move your career forward. In fact, this question alone could help you transform your career in ways you might not have believed was possible.

Time to Assimilate these Concepts

Did you gain value from this article? Would you like to keep these concepts at the forefront of your mind? If so, then you might like to download the accompanying mind map reference poster to your iPad, tablet or computer. The map presents you with a quick overview of this article. It’s designed specifically to help improve your memory and recall of this information so that you can better integrate these concepts into your daily thoughts, habits and actions. Your purchase will also go a long way towards supporting the further development of these maps.

If you enjoy using these maps, then why not become a IQ Matrix lifetime member where you will gain access to an ever growing number of hundreds of self-growth mind maps that can help you excel in every area of life. It would be fantastic to have you join our community of existing lifetime members.